Many times after my wife and I have tucked all of our kids into bed at night, my 3-year-old Katie has shouted out from her room, “Good night mommy,” to which I respond in a feminine voice (trying to mimic my wife), “Good night Katie.” Katie’s response is always the same: “Daddy, you’re my daddy. You can’t be my daddy and my mommy. You can only be my daddy.”
I laugh because she’s right…I can’t be both. Ironically, however, mixing up biblical roles is a common weakness in marriages. And often it starts when the husband fails to step up as the spiritual leader of his home (Ephesians 5:23). Men often allow things like work or sports to take precedence in their lives, leaving their wives to initiate things like church attendance, church involvement, family devotions, family prayer time, discipline of children, etc. This isn’t how God designed our roles.
Recently, an elder in our church gave me some great parenting advice when he said, “Create an environment in your home that makes it more difficult for your children to sin.” This absolutely applies to marriages as well. Guys, when we fail to fulfill our roles, we’re putting our wives in a position that God didn’t intend them to be in. It’s vital that we understand and fulfill our God-given roles, which actually glorify God by reflecting the Trinity. 1Corinthians 11:3 says… the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
Excuses for failing to lead? Yes, there are plenty…
but I’m not a leader
but she knows the Bible so much more than me
but she has more time
Been there. Done that. But I learned that being the spiritual leader isn’t a matter of comparing your qualifications to hers. It’s a matter of Biblical obedience. Guys, the moment you said “I do” you became the spiritual leader of your family.
So be encouraged that what our Lord calls us to do, He enables us to do…
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.